In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medicines and medical devices, and monitors them to ensure they continue to meet quality and safety standards.1 However, recent controversies with both medicines2 and devices3–6 suggest the current system may be failing patients. In the UK, the 2000 Freedom of Information (FOI) Act provides public access to information held by public authorities, and can be used as one method to hold them accountable, and ensure they are promoting adequate patient safety.7

Under this Act, the MHRA must disclose information on request. Requests can come from any member of the public and relate to any process the MHRA is responsible for. These requests are important to facilitate independent assessment of the regulatory process the MHRA undertakes. There are two predominant ways a request can be made. First, it can be submitted by contacting the MHRA directly. Alternatively, it can be sent via the website WhatDoTheyKnow, which forwards requests to the MHRA, and subsequently publishes and archives the response.8 Section 10 of the FOI Act dictates that responses should be received within 20 working days.7

The FOI Act, however, has 24 provisions and sections that allow the MHRA to refuse particular requests.7 Given the importance of transparency and accountability, we set out to audit FOI requests made to the MHRA to determine the proportion of successful requests, evaluate the reasons for refusal and provide advice for those considering future requests.

### What did we do?

A single author (SEG) identified all available FOI requests and responses to the MHRA listed on the 'WhatDoTheyKnow' website up until to 31 December 2017. We also contacted the MHRA on 21 November 2017 and asked them to supply a list of all FOI requests ever made to them, and the subsequent outcomes. We extracted the date …


Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques using excitation in the A-X and D-X electronic systems have proven a reliable technique for two-dimensional imaging of nitric oxide concentrations in practical combustion systems. However, at pressures above 10 atmospheres, attenuation of the excitation laser in the hot combustion gases and interference from molecular oxygen LIF causes significant problems for NO LIF. We compare here strategies for NO LIF detection exciting selected transitions in the A-X (0,0), (0,1), and (0,2) bands. We report measurements in laminar premixed methane/air flames at pressures between 1 and 60 bar, and based on these results, we discuss the advantages and problems of these three excitation strategies.


When collecting data, some observations will always be hard to confidently classify in accordance with stated definitions of war, civil conflict, or political violence. This research note draws on the experiences of the Uppsala Conflict Data Program in the last decade in managing such unclear cases. After explaining the difference between unclear and non-cases, I describe the data generating process and how this uncertainty is distributed over time in the data. This exercise reveals that the 1980s may have been more conflict-filled than the 1990s, challenging arguments about the stability of the bipolar global order as well as the sudden 'rise' of warfare in the immediate post-Cold War era. The final section suggests different ways that researchers may use existing information regarding unclear cases as a way to conceptualize the nature of civil strife without having to engage in additional data collection.


The paper describes a diagnostic system for electromechanical equipment with a decision-making block based on a neural network. An asynchronous gear drive was used as a control object. Decision making was carried out on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of vibration data (from the gear drive) and the current consumption of the induction motor. Vibration velocity, vibration acceleration and current in the phases of the stator winding of the drive electric motor are distinguished as diagnostic signs. The work shows the possibility of increasing the efficiency of diagnostics of electromechanical equipment by using complex analysis with the use of an intelligent decision-making unit. Analysis of the results of the neural network operation with the received vibration and current data showed that with a smaller number of iterations (training time) (by 40 %), 97.9 % of correct answers and a lower error value (by 12 %) were obtained.


This paper proposes a new active sensor system (active antenna) that can detect not only the contact location between an insensitive flexible beam and an environment but also the information of the environment's surface where the beam makes contact. The active antenna is simply composed of a flexible beam, actuators to move the beam, position sensors to measure the rotational angle of the beam, and a moment sensor. We first show that the contact distance under no lateral slip is proportional to the rotational compliance that the beam can sense at the rotational center. The lateral slip, which possibly occurs according to the pushing direction and the environment's geometry, overestimates the rotational compliance, and as a result, brings a large sensing error for the localizing contact point. The goal of this paper is to find the contact location under such conditions. We explore how to detect a lateral slip and how to determine the new pushing direction to avoid it. We show an algorithm that can search for the pushing direction which can avoid any lateral slip. The convergence of this algorithm is shown and a practical utilization of this algorithm is also discussed with a trade-off between the number of trials and the sensing accuracy.


Bacterial mutS and mutL mutations confer large increases in recombination between sequences that are divergent by several percent at the nucleotide level, an effect attributed to a role for products of these genes in control of recombination fidelity. Since MutS and MutL are proteins involved in the earliest steps of mismatch repair, including mismatch recognition by MutS, we have tested the possibility that they may affect strand exchange in response to occurrence of mispairs within the recombination heteroduplex. We show that MutS abolishes RecA-catalyzed strand transfer between fd and M13 bacteriophage DNAs, which vary by 3% at the nucleotide level, but is without effect on M13-M13 or fd-fd exchange. Although MutL alone has no effect on M13-fd heteroduplex formation, the protein dramatically enhances the inhibition of strand transfer mediated by MutS. Analysis of strand-transfer intermediates that accumulate in the presence of MutS and MutL indicates that the proteins block branch migration, presumably in response to occurrence of mispairs within newly formed heteroduplex.


A 71-year-old female patient fell in her garden, inducing a skin wound on the temporal left eyebrow. Skin disinfection and wound closure were performed elsewhere, an X-ray image did not reveal a foreign body. She was referred to our service three days later with a progressive left periorbital swelling. Clinical inspection demonstrated a painfully, fluctuant swelling around the wound with an inflammatory pseudoptosis of the left eye. Vision was reduced on the left eye; anterior and posterior segments of both eyes were unharmed. After opening the wound sutures a purulent liquid was drained and a wooden fragment was found, measuring 22 x 0.5 mm. Because of restriction of abduction of the left eye, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, detecting another organic intraorbital foreign body and a fracture of the left medial orbital wall. Anterior orbitotomy was performed and a wooden fragment was removed, measuring 47 x 0.6 mm. Under administration of intravenous antibiotics vision and ocular motility recovered uneventfully. This case emphasizes the value of MRI in the diagnostics of retained wooden foreign bodies as well as the importance of a soigneuse inspection of skin wounds with a high risk for remaining foreign bodies.


The World-Wide Web provides every internet citizen with access to a lot of information, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify those pieces of information that are relevant to the user. Research in areas of web mining tries to address this problem of web data by applying techniques from data mining on it. The web mining tools are generally used for scanning the HTML documents and other medias, the results are provided for the web engines. It can provide content to web engines to provide productive results in order of relevance. In this paper, we will briefly introduce concepts of web mining and then we will give overview of FP-growth and Apriori algorithm which are important usage mining algorithm and provide their comparison.


OBJECTIVE
To provide uncompensated elective low-risk outpatient surgery for uninsured patients through a coalition of volunteer physicians, nurses, and hospitals.

DESIGN
Description of the process of establishing the Ambulatory Surgery Access Coalition (ASAC), the political and administrative obstacles encountered, and the clinical results of treatment of the first 25 patients in the pilot project.

SETTING
The ASAC includes the Kaiser Foundation Hospital, San Francisco, Calif, the University of California, San Francisco, the San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Consortium of Community Clinics, the Northern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and the San Francisco Medical Society. A pilot program of uncompensated outpatient surgery was performed at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital.

PATIENTS
Twenty-nine patients were referred to the ASAC between January 1 and November 1, 1994. Twenty-six patients were judged to be candidates for surgery, and 25 patients met the criteria for the ASAC program. One patient was referred to SFGH for treatment because of a perceived increased risk for hospitalization after surgery.

RESULTS
Twenty-one patients underwent herniorrhaphy; three, excision of large inclusion cysts; and one, anal fistulotomy. Seventeen procedures were done under local anesthesia, seven under general anesthesia, and one under spinal anesthesia. None of the patients required hospital admission. No wound infections occurred.

CONCLUSION
The ASAC successfully provided uncompensated low-risk outpatient surgery to 25 low-income uninsured patients in San Francisco. The coalition hopes, first, to include other San Francisco hospitals and surgical specialties, and second, to serve as a model for other communities throughout the country.


The complexity of climate change impacts on ecological processes necessitates flexible and adaptive conservation strategies that cross traditional disciplines. Current strategies involving protected areas are predominantly fixed in space, and may on their own be inadequate under climate change. Here, we propose a novel approach to climate adaptation that combines permanent protected areas with temporary conservation areas to create flexible networks. Previous work has tended to consider permanent and dynamic protection as separate actions, but their integration could draw on the strengths of both approaches to improve biodiversity conservation and help manage for ecological uncertainty in the coming decades. As there are often time lags between the establishment of permanent protected areas, the inclusion of dynamic conservation areas within permanent networks could provide critical transient protection to mitigate land-use changes and biodiversity redistributions. This integrated approach may be particularly useful in highly human-modified and fragmented landscapes where areas of conservation value are limited and long-term place-based protection is unfeasible. To determine when such an approach may be feasible, we propose the use of a decision framework. Under certain scenarios, these coupled networks have the potential to increase spatio-temporal network connectivity and help maintain biodiversity and ecological processes under climate change. Implementing these networks would require multidisciplinary scientific evidence, new policies, creative funding solutions, and broader acceptance of a dynamic approach to biodiversity conservation.


ABSTRACT Elongate, shore-parallel sand bodies lie on the lower shoreface of the embayed and cliffed coast of central New South Wales, Australia. These sand bodies are 10 to 30 m thick, extend almost continuously for 40 km parallel to the coast, and display a pronounced convexity on the sea floor in profile. Sediment sampling and detailed seismic reflection and side-scan sonar profiling provide evidence that the upper part of these large lobate sand bodies consists chiefly of sand transported downslope from the upper shoreface and surf zone. The sand bodies consist entirely of marine sand probably derived locally from retreating embayed beaches and in part from sandstone cliffs. Channels and sediment lobes oriented normal to the shoreline and internal structure indicate growth by seaward progradation, and surface morphology indicates coalescing of lobes and damming of bed-load sediment against bed-rock ridges in water depths of 70 to 80 m. The precise mechanism, or mechanisms, of seaward transport on the shoreface is unresolved. We surmise that during storm events, disturbance by large waves and seaward transport by downwelling bottom currents result in sand movement onto and across the sand-body surface at depths of 40 to 80 m. Concurrent modification of the sand bodies by shore-parallel processes is suggested by textural trends, bed forms, and the overall alongshore continuity of the sand bodies.


A microwave sintering method was used to prepare C3S from Ca(OH)2, SiO2 and MexOy. f-CaO assay, X-ray diffraction and SEM were used to characterize the sintered samples.The results indicated that ion oxides played a very important role in C3S formation in conventional sintering, the use of MexOy as an additive was so effective in promoting C3S formation. The experimental results showed that samples were heated at an electric heating temperature(1500°C) and then further sintered with microwave for 30~60 min, tricalcium silicate could be formed with kilogram step. The new burning technique can greatly increase the forming speed of tricalcium silicate, MnO2, CuO and Ni2O3 could enhance the microwave sintering.


Abstract African lion Panthera leo populations have declined as a result of various anthropogenic factors, and most extant populations are small, which further compromises their persistence. Lions in unfenced areas are more exposed to illegal hunting, snaring and poisoning, and populations in fenced reserves are subject to population control by removal of selected individuals from particular age and sex classes. During 2000–2011 19 lions from the mostly unfenced Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana were shot, snared or poisoned. By contrast, only one lioness was shot outside the fenced Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve 10 km away, in South Africa, where 29 lions were trophy hunted or culled. We found that the mean population size, sex ratio and litter size were the same for both reserves but population density, pride size and cub survival rate were significantly higher in the fenced reserve. The size of the population in Northern Tuli was constrained by a high rate of indiscriminate anthropogenic mortality, with 94.7% of adult mortality occurring outside the reserve. The different forms of anthropogenic suppression in evidence at the two reserves resulted in different population-level responses, which will ultimately affect population viability. As conservation strategies are attempting to remove fences and establish larger conservation areas, this study indicates how fences can influence population dynamics in areas where human presence threatens large carnivores.


With contemporary multi-agent chemotherapy regimens, nearly 90% of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be cured (1,2). Glucocorticoids have remained an essential part of the induction chemotherapy regimen in childhood ALL for decades (3). Both prednisone (PDN) and dexamethasone (DXM) are glucocorticoids used in induction therapy, with different anti-leukemic efficacy, central nervous system (CNS) penetration, and toxicity profiles. In general, DXM contains more potent cytotoxic glucocorticoids with better CNS penetration, which is particularly appealing to T-cell ALL with higher rates of CNS disease (4-7). However, the benefits of DXM have been offset by the higher incidence of fatal infection in induction, and more treatment-related toxicity such as avascular necrosis (AVN) (8,9). Despite previous attempts to directly compare the effects of two glucocorticoids during induction by several randomized clinical trials, no consensus has been reached regarding the optimal glucocorticoid in induction, at which dose, and the duration of therapy (8,10-12).


An increase in Brazilian agricultural product exportation with a concurrent increase in the use of fertilizer has put pressure on the country's already overtaxed transportation system and expanded the number and intensity of transportation bottlenecks, especially during the grain harvest and planting seasons. Problems with the transportation system have led to an increase in fertilizer transportation costs and a disproportionate increase in fertilizer's share of total agricultural production costs, highlighting the need to discover the most economic fertilizer transportation routes. Our research found a significant variance in fertilizer transportation costs among different Brazilian transport regions, referred to as transport corridors in this study. Literature on the subject has found that regional fertilizer shipping price variations are often contingent on the presence of shipping intensive industries, ports and storage centers. Using a comparative analysis based on an econometric model, this study ex...


The discovery of causal relationships from observations is a fundamental and difficult problem. We address it in the context of Additive Noise Models, and show, through both consistency analysis and experiments, that the state-of-art causal inference procedure on such models can be made simpler and faster, without loss of performance. Indeed, the method we propose uses one regressor instead of two in the bivariate case and 2(d − 1) regressors instead of (d 2 − 1) in the multivariate case with d random variables. In addition, we show how one can, from the regressors we use, accelerate the computation of the Hilbert-Schmidt Independence Criterion, a standard independence measure used in several causal inference procedures.


The Turkish twin rigged beam trawl which has two identical nets rigged side by side on the same beam targets mainly the Parapenaeus longirostris , although some bycatch fish species have also become target species. Thus, landings of the shrimp beam trawling fleet also include some commercially valuable fishes. Our study focused on the bycatch commercial species which are caught by the beam trawl fishery with nominal mesh sizes 36 and 40 mm PA (diamond) codend in the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) and also on the minimum landing size (MLS) established for Merluccius merluccius , Merlangius merlangus euxinus , Mullus surmuletus , Trachurus trachurus and Pomatomus saltatrix . Since there was no MLS value for Spicara smaris , the length at first maturity (LFM) was used for this species. Experiments were carried out onboard the commercial beam trawler. In 20 hauls, the average codend catch weight was 63.12 kg for 36 mm PA and 66.51 kg for 40 mm PA. On the other hand, for 36 mm PA, 83.5% of M. merluccius , 74.3% of M. merlangus euxinus , 29.7% of T. trachurus , 10.8% of P. saltatrix and 8.6% of M. surmuletus were below the MLS. For 40 mm PA, 88.9% of M. merlangus euxinus , 87.7% of M. merluccius , 42.5% of T. trachurus , 7.2% of P. saltatrix and 6.7% of M. surmuletus were below MLS. In addition, 7.5% of S. smaris were below length at first maturity (LFM) for 36 PA codends.


This study aims to investigate the structure and properties of raw glazes with zirconium and boron addition for sanitary porcelain. To obtain the glazes under investigation the following raw materials were used: potassium feldspar, kaolin, wollastonite, quartz, colemanite, ZnO and ZrO2. The glazes were prepared by traditional ceramic method and the resulted suspension was applied on the green ceramic substrate and thermally treated in an electrical furnace with a treatment time of 1 hour at the maximum temperature of 12500C. The microstructure of the glazes and the glaze-ceramic substrate interfaces were evaluated by SEM and EDAX microanalysis, which showed the presence of zircon micro crystals. X-Ray diffraction revealed that the mineralogical composition of the glazes consisted of quartz, zircon, feldspar and colemanite phases. The correlation between the composition and properties of the glazes was established by hot stage microscopy and dilatometry (melt viscosity, contact angle and thermal expansion coefficient). The colour characteristics were estimated in the HunterLab system (L* C* h*, remission spectra).


Globally, foodborne illness affects an estimated 30% of individuals annually. Meals prepared outside of the home are a risk factor for acquiring foodborne illness and have been implicated in up to 70% of traced outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called on food safety communicators to design new methods and messages aimed at increasing food safety risk-reduction practices from farm to fork. Food safety infosheets, a novel communication tool designed to appeal to food handlers and compel behavior change, were evaluated. Food safety infosheets were provided weekly to food handlers in working food service operations for 7 weeks. It was hypothesized that through the posting of food safety infosheets in highly visible locations, such as kitchen work areas and hand washing stations, that safe food handling behaviors of food service staff could be positively influenced. Using video observation, food handlers (n = 47) in eight food service operations were observed for a total of 348 h (pre- and postintervention combined). After the food safety infosheets were introduced, food handlers demonstrated a significant increase (6.7%, P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval) in mean hand washing attempts, and a significant reduction in indirect cross-contamination events (19.6%, P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval). Results of the research demonstrate that posting food safety infosheets is an effective intervention tool that positively influences the food safety behaviors of food handlers.


Historically, there has been theological evaluation of Christian religious education curricula, but there is a lack of systematic pedagogical evaluation of Christian religious education material. Consumer and market demand for material has resulted in very little serious examining of the material being produced. Consequently, Christian religious education material used in the church context often remains virtually unchallenged. Using current research and existing evaluation documents, this exploration raises possible parameters for a method through which to examine and evaluate curriculum, recognizing the need for an approach that critically examines the approaches to teaching and learning that undergird existing Christian religious education materials.


Space code division multiple access (CDMA) based 2D parallel optical transmission over a record length (100 m long) image fibre is demonstrated. Four 2 × 2 bit-planes encoded by 8 × 8 signature patterns are multiplexed and transmitted over a 100 m long image fibre. Each receiver can regenerate an intended bit-plane by optically correlating the received signal with the corresponding signature pattern. This opens up the application to high throughput massively parallel processor data links.


Recent advances in geospatial Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) are shifting geospatial data and analysis from the everything-locally-owned-and-operated paradigm to the everything-shared-over-the-Web paradigm. By embracing geospatial content and capabilities within the context of SOA, we have developed a Geospatial Online Analysis System (GeOnAS), a fully extensible system designed for discovery, retrieval, analysis, and visualization of geospatial and other network data based on Web services. GeOnAS also is built as an open and collaborative system capable of integrating distributed services to implement all required functions. The more users are involved, the more powerful the system becomes. GeOnAS provides values in its overall efficiency of integrating and analyzing distributed geospatial data over the Web.


Plants have numerous impacts on biogeochemical cycling across both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These effects extend well beyond the critical role of carbon (C) fixation through photosynthesis that provides the basis for ecosystem energy flow. While foliar and root traits of senescent plant material (litter) have been explored in detail in terrestrial ecosystems, there is a resurgence of interest in how plants modulate biogeochemical cycling in ways other than litter quality effects on C and nutrient mineralization. This Special Feature represents a collection of 'fresh' perspectives on how plants alone, or in interaction with other organisms, have important and lasting impacts on biogeochemical cycles of C and nutrients in a range of terrestrial and aquatic environments. We begin in the open ocean and then peer from the forest edge before moving into forest understoreys and grasslands to examine the control by live terrestrial plants on ecosystem C and nutrient cycling. Plants directly affect biogeochemical cycling while living through their diversity and composition, nutrient capture and strategies for assimilating C, and by altering the microclimate for decomposition. In addition, how they construct their tissues and alter the abiotic environment has large impacts on the turnover of C and nutrients once plants have senesced or died. From the direct impact of plants, we move onto the influence of plant–insect interactions, which effectively determine changes in plant stoichiometry in grasslands of varying diversity. Finally, looking directly in the soil, it is clear that plant–mycorrhizae interactions are important in modulating the response of litter decomposition to nutrient addition and the nature of C metabolism in the soil. Synthesis. The papers here highlight careful matching between how plants live and their biotic and abiotic contexts. Taken together, it appears that the dynamic, rather than passive, nature of plant responses to variable environments is key in affecting ecosystem level processes of C and nutrient turnover. This Special Feature highlights a diversity of connections between plants and their environment and demonstrates that in both life and death, how plants respond to these changes differs among plant lineages and this diversity will play a central role in determining biogeochemical cycling in the future in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.


The recent widespread diffusion of radio-frequency identification (RFID) applications operating in the UHF band has been supported by both the request for greater interrogation ranges and greater and faster data exchange.
UHF-RFID systems, exploiting a physical interaction based on Electromagnetic propagation, introduce many problems that have not been fully explored for the previous generations of RFID systems (e.g. HF). Therefore, the availability of reliable tools for modeling and evaluating the radio-communication between Reader and Tag within an RFID radio-link are needed. The first part of the thesis discuss the impact of real environment on system performance. In particular an analytical closed form formulation for the back-scattered field from the Tag antenna and the formulation for the lower bound of the BER achievable at the Reader side will be presented, considering different possible electromagnetic impairments. By means of the previous formulations, of the analysis of the RFID link operating in near filed conditions and of some electromagnetic/system-level co-simulations, an in-depth study of the dimensioning parameters and the actual performance of the systems will be discussed and analyzed, showing some relevant properties and trade-offs in transponder and reader design. Moreover a new low cost approach to extend the read range of the RFID UHF passive systems will be discussed. Within the scope to check the reliability of the analysis approaches and of innovative proposals, some reference transponder antennas have been designed and extensive measurement campaign has been carried out with satisfactory results. Finally, some commercial ad-hoc transponder for industrial application have been designed within the cooperation with Datalogic s.p.a., some guidelines and results will be briefly presented.


The big idea of celestial motion, observational astronomy phenomena explained by the relative position and motion of objects in the solar system and beyond, is central to astronomy in primary and secondary education. In this paper, I argue that students' progress in developing productive, scientific explanations for this class of astronomical phenomena can be defined by the increasing sophistication of spatial knowledge and reasoning in the domain. Drawing upon literature on children's ideas about celestial motion, instruction that supports progress in that domain and literature on spatial thinking, I developed a learning progression (LP) framework that integrates cognition, instruction and assessment to understand student learning in this domain. This framework was applied to a study of children learning to explain the daily celestial motion of the Sun, Moon and stars, and the phases of the Moon. The application of the LP framework to analyse teaching sequences in astronomy extends this review by illustrating how progress within these phenomena is shaped by students' ability to visualise the appearance of objects and their motions across moving frames of reference.


BACKGROUND
Antioxidant supplementation has become a common practice among athletes to theoretically achieve a reduction in oxidative stress, promote recovery and improve performance.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of antioxidant supplements on exercise.

METHODS
A systematic literature search was performed up to January 2019 in MEDLINE via EBSCO and Pubmed, and in Web of Sciences based on the following terms: "antioxidants" [Major] AND "exercise" AND "adaptation"; "antioxidant supplement" AND "(exercise or physical activity)" AND "(adaptation or adjustment)" [MesH]. Thirty-six articles were finally included.

RESULTS
Exhaustive exercise induces an antioxidant response in neutrophils through an increase in antioxidant enzymes, and antioxidant low-level supplementation does not block this adaptive cellular response. Supplementation with antioxidants appears to decrease oxidative damage blocking cell-signaling pathways associated with muscle hypertrophy. However, upregulation of endogenous antioxidant enzymes after resistance training is blocked by exogenous antioxidant supplementation. Supplementation with antioxidants does not affect the performance improvement induced by resistance exercise. The effects of antioxidant supplementation on physical performance and redox status may vary depending on baseline levels.

CONCLUSION
The antioxidant response to exercise has two components: at the time of stress and adaptation through genetic modulation processes in front of persistent pro-oxidant situation. Acute administration of antioxidants immediately before or during an exercise session can have beneficial effects, such as a delay in the onset of fatigue and a reduction in the recovery period. Chronic administration of antioxidant supplements may impair exercise adaptations, and it is only beneficial in subjects with low basal levels of antioxidants.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the tolerability and effectiveness of uracil-tegafur (UFT) with leucovorin (LV) in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients > or = 75 years of age with previously untreated colorectal cancer were eligible for this phase II, single-arm, open-label, multicenter cooperative group clinical trial. UFT 100 mg/m2 plus LV 30 mg orally every 8 hours for 28 days every 35 days was administered until progression.

RESULTS
Fifty-eight patients were enrolled between June 2000 and July 2001, and 55 were treated. The median age of treated patients was 81 years (range, 75 to 90 years), 26 patients were (47%) women, and 80% had good performance status (0 to 1). The observed overall response rate was 22% (95% CI, 11.8% to 35.0%). The estimated median overall survival time was 13.0 months (95% CI, 9.6 to 17.4 months), and median progression-free survival time was 4.6 months (95% CI, 2.6 to 6.7 months). Among the 56 treated patients (including one ineligible patient), 31 (55%) experienced grade 3 to 4 toxicities, most commonly diarrhea (25%) and GI toxicity (36%), with patients older than 85 years of age at highest risk.

CONCLUSION
The results of this trial support the efficacy of oral UFT/LV in elderly patients with colorectal cancer. The regimen is tolerated moderately well overall, particularly as compared with other fluoropyrimidine regimens, although there is increased GI toxicity in the most elderly. These results suggest that studies using newer oral fluoropyrimidine analogs should be investigated in this patient population.


Four cases of West's syndrome (generalized myoclonic spasms, arrest of psychomotor development and hypsarrhythmia) which were found to be resistant to the classical treatment (ACTH, prednisone, nitrazepam, clonazepam, etc.) are reported. In these cases, high fever (pyretotherapy) induced by TBA vaccine (typhoid and paratyphoid) was used. Within the next eight days following treatment with pyretotherapy, the clinical conditions of these children showed a gradual decrease of generalized myoclonic spasms and an improvement of their mental and neurological status. The follow-up electroencephalograms showed cessation of the hypsarrhythmia. The study of these cases and their electro-clinical correlates suggests that pyretotherapy is a useful procedure in this extremely disabling condition.


An electron-withdrawing meta-disubstituted trifluoro-methyl terminal containing bis-urea receptor L derived from meta-phenylenediamine core is logically designed and synthesized for investigating its anion coordination activities. Receptor L has been recognized as a potential system for unusual asymmetric entrapment of naked sulphate anion along with R33(5)-type cyclic hydrated sulphate by one of the three symmetry-independent receptor moieties in a unit cell via hydrogen bonding-activated proton transfer from hydrogen sulphate. In addition, it is effective for fluoride-induced fixation of atmospheric CO2 as an air-stable bicarbonate dimer, linear acetate–water polymeric assembly formation and chair-like (chloride)2–(water)2 assembly construction via H-bonding interactions of eight urea groups of four receptor units. Crystallographic results show that including DMF and DMSO-solvated free receptor structures, all halide and oxyanions noncovalently interact with urea groups of particular receptor moiety via noncooperative interactions irrespective of the anion dimension, which is possibly attributed to the aromatic meta-difunctionalization-driven steric effect of ligand architecture.


Background Events over an individual's life course can positively or negatively affect their health and wellbeing in older age. We aimed to identify associations between groups of older people with similar life events and their health, behaviours and social interactions in older age. Methods We undertook a latent class analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing wave 3. Groups of participants with similar life events were generated based on eight life events; maternal and paternal closeness, educational opportunities in childhood, financial hardship, bereavement due to war, involvement in conflict, violence, and experiencing a natural disaster. The number of groups was determined based on model fit and team discussion. Linear and logistic regression were used to explore associations between these groups and pre-specified health and wellbeing factors, adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic class and weighted for group probability. Results 7555 participants were allocated to one of four groups: Group A 'few life events' (n=6,250), Group B 'emotionally cold mother' (n=724), Group C 'violence in combat' (n=274) and Group D 'many life events' (n=307). Participants in Group D were statistically significantly more likely than those in Group A to experience disability (coefficient 0.35, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.50), reduced quality of life (coefficient −5.33, 95% CI −6.61 to −4.05), psychological disorders (OR 3.01, 95% CI 2.18 to 4.17) and social detachment (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.36 to 4.97). Group C membership compared to Group A was associated with reduced quality of life (coefficient –1.95, 95% CI −3.08 to −0.82) and a life-threatening illness or accident (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.52 to 2.59). Group B membership, compared to Group A, was associated with reduced quality of life (coefficient −1.89, 95% CI −2.62 to −1.15), psychological disorders (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.23), social detachment (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.68 to 4.04) and the perceived long-term effect of ill health (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.84). Conclusion We have identified four broad groups of older people; those with few life events, those with many life events, those with an emotionally cold mother and those who have experienced violence in combat. Compared to the group with few life events, all other groups had adverse health and wellbeing in later life, especially those with an emotionally cold mother or many life events. Policies to improve health and wellbeing in later life should have a life course perspective focusing on at risk groups.


Abstract. The System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses (SAGA) is an open source geographic information system (GIS), mainly licensed under the GNU General Public License. Since its first release in 2004, SAGA has rapidly developed from a specialized tool for digital terrain analysis to a comprehensive and globally established GIS platform for scientific analysis and modeling. SAGA is coded in C++ in an object oriented design and runs under several operating systems including Windows and Linux. Key functional features of the modular software architecture comprise an application programming interface for the development and implementation of new geoscientific methods, a user friendly graphical user interface with many visualization options, a command line interpreter, and interfaces to interpreted languages like R and Python. The current version 2.1.4 offers more than 600 tools, which are implemented in dynamically loadable libraries or shared objects and represent the broad scopes of SAGA in numerous fields of geoscientific endeavor and beyond. In this paper, we inform about the system's architecture, functionality, and its current state of development and implementation. Furthermore, we highlight the wide spectrum of scientific applications of SAGA in a review of published studies, with special emphasis on the core application areas digital terrain analysis, geomorphology, soil science, climatology and meteorology, as well as remote sensing.


Painful episodes account for approximately 60% of all hospitalizations of children and adults with sickle cell disease. Limited information is available on managing pain in these individuals. Increasing attention is being focused on new ways to promote pain control. A new, safe, and effective way to achieve pain relief and control is through patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). This report describes our experiences using PCA in children with sickle cell disease. Over an 18-month period, 61 children considered to have severe or intolerable pain (unassociated with infection or organ-related disease) were treated with PCA. The records of 10 children selected randomly from the 61 were examined and compared with those of 10 children also randomly selected who had been treated using a conventional, fixed-schedule approach. Time in the hospital, time until tapering of narcotic, time until pain relief, and duration of parenteral narcotic therapy were similar between the two groups. Total dose of intravenous narcotic therapy (meperidine equivalent in mg/kg) was greater in the PCA group. Five of 10 children using PCA, however, experienced relief within 6 hours compared with 1 of 10 children in the non-PCA group (P = .052). Patients, families, and hospital staff expressed satisfaction and preferred PCA to conventional management when offered a choice.


Carla Sozzani opened Galleria Carla Sozzani in September 1990 as a space for art, photography, and design housed in a converted garage at 10 Corso Como in Milan. Along with American artist Kris Ruhs, Sozzani created a space like no other. Rejecting ordinary retail norms, this concept store has always promoted a different philosophy--that of slow shopping, a succession of spaces and events that prioritize lifestyle over object acquisition. In this book, Sozzani describes her world: her style, personal taste, and opinions on fashion, travel, design, and lifestyle. The Galleria now incorporates a bookshop, a fashion and design store, and a garden cafe, and it is one of Milan's hippest and most exquisitely curated spaces--a destination in itself. 10 Corso Como has become the nexus of a global network of cultural exchange through fashion, food, art, and photography that continues to inspire fashion and design. In recent years, two additional locations have been added: 10 Corso Como-Comme des Garcons in Tokyo in 2002 and a Seoul branch in 2008.


Anomalous muscle bands in right ventricle are uncommon findings with variable clinical presentations. We report an interesting case of a 6 year old asymptomatic boy with a large apical non restrictive ventricular septal defect and an anomalous muscle band in right ventricle. The muscle band divided the right ventricle into 2 chambers: smaller apical chamber which was connected to the left ventricle by an large apical non restrictive ventricular septal defect and proximal chamber which included right ventricular inflow and outflow tract. The hemodynamic burden of the ventricular septal defect was curtailed by the restrictive muscle band, hence patient remained asymptomatic. In total the condition behaved like a restrictive ventricular septal defect. Patient was kept under follow up and was not considered for surgical correction in view of negligible hemodynamic disturbances. Previously in literature 1 such case has been reported earlier Key words: Double chambered right ventricle, Right ventricular anomalous muscle band, Ventricular septal defect


Pierce's disease (PD), caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa , is a major disease of grapevines. Grape species native to southern areas of North America where the disease is severe have evolved resistance to PD. Using controlled greenhouse trials, a quantitative assessment of the level of resistance in cultivated and wild selections of five native grape species was made. Conclusions were based on estimates of bacterial concentrations in stem tissue via ELISA and subjective evaluations of disease symptoms. Vitis labrusca, native to the northeast United States where PD is absent, appears to be as susceptible as Vitis vinifera . California natives Vitis californica and Vitis girdiana appear to be moderately susceptible, although there was significant variation among the V. girdiana selections. In contrast, Muscadinia rotundifolia and Vitis arizonica , both native to areas of severe disease pressure, appear to be very resistant. A pattern of resistance correlating with geographic variation in disease pressure was also evident within species. Wild accessions of M. rotundifolia from cooler areas such as Tennessee, where PD is uncommon, supported up to 20x higher concentrations of bacteria than the accessions from Florida where PD is severe. Trials with wild accessions of V. girdiana showed a similar pattern, with susceptible selections supporting up to 100x higher bacterial concentrations. Results demonstrated a gradient of resistance both among and within species, consistent with the hypothesis that PD resistance has evolved in response to disease pressure. This study identifies candidate plant material for breeding projects and provides insight into the genetic and physiological basis of PD resistance in native grapes.


We investigate the vertical gradient of the magnetic field of sunspots in the photospheric layer. Independent observations were obtained with the SOT/SP onboard the Hinode spacecraft and with the TIP-2 mounted at the VTT. We apply state-of-the-art inversion techniques to both data sets to retrieve the magnetic field and the corresponding vertical gradient. In the sunspot penumbrae we detected patches of negative vertical gradients of the magnetic field strength, i.e.,the magnetic field strength decreases with optical depth in the photosphere. The negative gradient patches are located in the inner and partly in the middle penumbrae in both data sets. From the SOT/SP observations, we found that the negative gradient patches are restricted mainly to the deep photospheric layers and are concentrated near the edges of the penumbral filaments. MHD simulations also show negative gradients in the inner penumbrae, also at the locations of filaments. Both in the observations and simulation negative gradients of the magnetic field vs. optical depth dominate at some radial distances in the penumbra. The negative gradient with respect to optical depth in the inner penumbrae persists even after averaging in the azimuthal direction, both in the observations and, to a lesser extent, also in MHD simulations. We interpret the observed localized presence of the negative vertical gradient of the magnetic field strength in the observations as a consequence of stronger field from spines expanding with height and closing above the weaker field inter-spines. The presence of the negative gradients with respect to optical depth after azimuthal averaging can be explained by two different mechanisms: the high corrugation of equal optical depth surfaces and the cancellation of polarized signal due to the presence of unresolved opposite polarity patches in the deeper layers of the penumbra.


Abstract> Objectives. Diagnostics of patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) are complex, and based on the 2010 Task Force document including different diagnostic modalities. However, recommendations for clinical management and follow-up of patients with ARVC and their relatives are sparse. This paper aims to give a practical overview of management strategies, risk stratification, and selection of appropriate therapies for patients with ARVC and their family members. Design. This paper summarizes follow-up and treatment strategies in ARVC patients in the Nordic countries. The author group represents cardiologists who are actively involved in the Nordic ARVC Registry which was established in 2009, and contains prospectively collected clinical data from more than 590 ARVC patients from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Results. Different approaches of management and follow-up are required in patients with definite ARVC and in genetic-mutation-positive family members. Furthermore, ARVC patients with and without implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) require different follow-up strategies. Conclusion. Careful follow-up is required in patients with ARVC diagnosis to evaluate the need of anti-arrhythmic therapy and ICD implantation. Mutation-positive family members should be followed regularly for detection of early disease and risk stratification of ventricular arrhythmias.


ABSTRACT This paper describes a research study that investigated foreign language students' collaborative practice in a blended, authentic learning environment. A group of intermediate and advanced level students of Italian at an Australian university interacted and collaborated with each other and with a group of native speaker mentors through a web-based learning management system and in face-to-face mode. As part of the project, students were required to complete two authentic tasks designed according to an authentic learning framework. In order to complete these tasks, students assigned themselves into small collaborative groups and negotiated their roles and responsibilities with little or no intervention from the class teacher apart from the requirement that communication took place in the target language. This paper describes the different phases of the collaborative process and the strategies employed by learners to overcome some of the challenges and problems encountered. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for language educators seeking to support student collaboration and foreign language development in a blended language learning environment.


Wastewater treatment plants generate large amounts of solid wastes on a regular basis. These waste solids contain a large amount of organic matter, nutrients and heavy metal. Existing knowledge has focused on cost intensive options for disposal of these waste solids. For this reason, the ability to adopt these technological means has been limited to large scale wastewater treatment plants. Due to lack of viable technological means, small and medium sized wastewater treatment plants dispose of solid waste in an unplanned way causing harm to the environment. One of the disposal practices is land based application (e.g. fertilizer). However, the application poses concerns of contaminants from heavy metals and nutrients. Therefore, there appears to be a growing necessity for finding appropriate technology to address the concerns related to leachability in sewage sludge. Alum treatment has the potential to reduce the leachability in sewage sludge, but alum treatment can reduce the pH, so lime addition can control the pH for the sewage sludge. Previous studies conducted by the author showed that the alum and lime treatment can reduce the leachability of sewage sludge. However, the effect of alum and lime dosages was not investigated. The objective of this paper is to assess the effect of alum and lime treatment of waste solids for reduction of leachability in wastewater treatment residuals. Batch tests were conducted to evaluate the leachability of phosphorus. The sludge was treated with 10g/l, 20g/l and 30g/l of alum solutions and lime doses of 10g/l, 20g/l and 30g/l to evaluate the effect of lime dosage on the leachability. The results indicated that 20g/l of alum treatment seemed to be the most effective in reducing phosphorus leachability. However, the increase in lime dosage reduced the phosphorus leachability, with 30g/l of lime provided the least phosphorus leachability.


The research is primarily about factors constraining efficient service delivery in urban local government of Bulawayo City Council. Local governments in Zimbabwe are constrained by both external and institutional (internal) factors in the delivery of efficient services. The main objectives of the study were to assess the state of service delivery and the identification of the factors constraining efficient service delivery in Bulawayo City Council. A multiple research approach was used. The study adopted a case study methodology where data was collected from Bulawayo City Council premises, Qualitative research approach was applied through the use of semi structured interviews and focus group discussions in data collection. Council documents and records were conducted with the council officials while the focus group discussions were used to collect data from the residents. The findings demonstrated that there is generally poor and unsatisfactory service delivery in Bulawayo City Council due to socio-economic, political and resource factors under which the local authority operates on. The local authority is affected by limited resources. Because of the adverse business environment, a number of companies have closed shops and those that remain are performing badly to the extent that they are not able to pay wages let alone licenses/rates to the local authorities. Key operations of many local authorities are crippled by shortage of essential, key skills. The economic crisis experienced in the country in the past ten years has pushed most professionals to find economic refuge in other countries leaving many inexperienced staff behind. The studies also found out that, while Council is guided by service delivery rules in the form of comprehensive mission statements and values which uphold the principles of good governance, the principles contained therein only exist on paper and are not fully adhered to. There are low levels of participation by the residents in the local government service delivery process. Little is also being done by the council officials to address the issue and include the residents' opinions before taking any decision. The research found out that the low level of participation is responsible for lack of transparency and accountability hence many service delivery inefficiencies. Lack of transparency and accountability has created room for corruption and mishandling of public funds. The resources are not directed towards the pressing needs of the poor and other disadvantaged groups of society.


The U3 snoRNA is required for 18S rRNA processing and small subunit ribosome formation in eukaryotes. Different from other box C/D snoRNAs, U3 contains an extra 5' domain that pairs with pre-rRNA and a unique B/C motif essential for recruitment of the U3-specific Rrp9 protein. Here, we analyze the structure and function of Rrp9 with crystallographic, biochemical, and cellular approaches. Rrp9 is composed of a WD repeat domain and an N-terminal region. The crystal structures of the WD domain of yeast Rrp9 and its human ortholog U3-55K were determined, revealing a typical seven-bladed propeller fold. Several conserved surface patches on the WD domain were identified, and their function in RNP assembly and yeast growth were analyzed by mutagenesis. Prior association of Snu13 with the B/C motif was found to enhance the specific binding of the WD domain. We show that a conserved 7bc loop is crucial for specific recognition of U3, nucleolar localization of Rrp9, and yeast growth. In addition, we show that the N-terminal region of Rrp9 contains a bipartite nuclear localization signal that is dispensable for nucleolar localization. Our results provide insight into the functional sites of Rrp9.


ABSTRACT As financial transactions are increasingly digitized, old and new kinds of intermediaries are only expanding in importance. Intermediaries, mediators and brokers sit at critical junctures and operate between diverse financial arenas and pathways. We argue that mapping the intermediate entails identifying how different kinds of actors—human and non-human, objects and interfaces, institutions and practices—delimit or reify but also stitch together and overcome spatial and temporal differences in people's financial lives, while taking on varying burdens of risk. Mapping the intermediate is both an empirical and methodological exercise. Empirically, it requires following the agents and traders, brokers and material objects that facilitate transactions and add, extract, or re-work different kinds of value. Methodologically, intermediaries and the intermediate are not only the objects of analysis but act as analytical tools in their own right, making the process and politics of transactions visible and tangible. Attending to the intermediate in our inquiries around money, currency and new digital financial technologies, thereby, offers new directions for grounding finance in politics and history and better connecting micro and macro and local and global economic processes.


Today's higher education has been international and universities confront increasingly fierce competition for survival. Therefore, it is significant to evaluate the teachers' teaching management level for universities and to build the reasonable and fair teaching evaluation system. Based on widely investigating and studying lots of related literature, this article builds the index system which reflects the undergraduate teaching management level of higher education on the characteristic of undergraduate teaching management. This article focuses on the study of teaching quality evaluation of university teachers by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. This model have rigorous logical reasoning and mathematical basis, they offer a new method for the teachers' teaching management evaluation of universities.


It is well known that both radiation and genetic factors are interconnected and significantly impact the morbidity of thyroid cancer and that is why Belarus has the highest incidence of that malignancy. Author describes statistical data, classification of angiogenesis and thyroid cancer, typical pathological features of malignant thyroid diseases relating to the vascular network. Nanotechnology developed for molecular imaging, differential diagnosis and drug delivery applied for thyroid cancer investigation and the free open-source image processing software applications designed for the quantitative evaluation of histological samples are discussed.

 Key words: Thyroid gland, angiogenesis, cancer, malignancy, image processing, tumor expansion, nanotechnology, radiation effects.


Knowledge regarding the determination, measurement, and supplementation of vitamin D in skin of color patients is evolving. At this time, it is believed that the majority of the skin of color population in the United States is vitamin D insufficient, which is particularly concerning given the possible links to disease states. However, further supporting evidence of insufficiency is required given recent questions regarding genetics and the applicability of normal levels across racial and ethnic groups. Finally, it is important for healthcare providers treating skin of color patients to recognize, educate, and promote the investigation of issues regarding vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency.


We formulate a simultaneous equations model and with the data of a panel of 600 Indian firms for the period 1991-92 to 1997-98 test the hypothesis of finance constraint. The firms are classified by the dividend pay-out ratio into high-cost and low-cost groups; a high dividend pay-out ratio implies a low cost of information faced by the firms and vice versa. In the context of developed countries, earlier researchers found that the firms in the high-cost group shows evidence of finance constraints and severity of the constraint goes down with the decrease in the cost of information. In our study we found that the firms with medium dividend pay-out ratios are constrained in the loans market so far as investment in fixed capital is concerned. This is quite a surprising result that requires careful explanation.


We use the information contained in 161 cross-sectional trade signals to explore the multidimensionality and predictability of individual stock returns in five international markets (North America, Europe, Pacific, Japan, and Emerging Markets). All markets are highly dimensional, but the most important return predictors differ across regions. Exploiting these characteristics, a single globally diversified high-dimensioned long/short return forecast strategy realizes a monthly equal-weighted (value-weighted) four-factor alpha of 4.1% (1.9%), and an annualized Sharpe ratio of 7.9 (3.4). Collectively, these results add to our understanding of market integration, data mining, and the degree of informational efficiency of global stock markets.


The Neoliberalism for some groups was considered superior to other economic systems, but the reality is the ideology fails to provide for the people welfare and has caused excessive economic inequality. Neoliberalism is the current and emerging economic paradigm characterized by the conventional paradigm that seeks to separate the economic activity of all religious values  and the release of government intervention through free markets, privatization, and globalization. Unlike the Islamic values  contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah, which has been able to become the main cornerstone of an economic system, the Islamic economic system. Islam teaches a balance between individual economic freedom with justice and the common good. Because it includes outlook and way of life as a whole as well (kāffah) as Islam has a goal of creating an economic system with the principles of justice (al-'adl) for all groups. While neoliberalism is an economic ideology that is based on capitalism, and when Neoliberalism applied in the economic system, it will caused more harm than good and benefit.


Pore water freshening has been observed within sediments near the trench at numerous subduction zones. Constraining the relative contributions of long‐distance updip flow of freshened fluids and in situ clay dehydration holds important implications for margin‐scale fluid flow but remains unresolved because the evolution of pore water chemistry expected due to in situ clay dehydration and the budget of fresh water release have generally not been carefully quantified. Here, we address this problem at the well‐studied Nankai Trough offshore SW Japan, where Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program drilling have sampled the sedimentary section along two transects: the Muroto transect and the Ashizuri transect, located ∼100 km southwest along strike. Broad low‐chloride anomalies with minimum concentrations significantly below typical seawater values were documented along the Muroto transect at Sites 1173, 1174, and 808 and indicate progressive freshening with increasing burial. In contrast, freshening at Site 1177 along the Ashizuri transect (∼24 km seaward of the trench) is characterized by a series of sharp excursions from seawater values. We use a one‐dimensional model to simulate sedimentation, thermal history, clay dehydration, and chemical diffusion, in order to quantify the component of pore water freshening attributable to in situ smectite dehydration. We find that simulated reaction progress is in close agreement with observations. The peak magnitude of pore water freshening is reasonably well predicted within the lowermost ∼150 m of the section but consistently underpredicted at intermediate depths. The residual pore water freshening profiles (not explained by smectite dehydration) reach peak magnitudes of ∼50–75 mM and approximately straddle the décollement at Sites 1174 and 808. We suggest that these residuals may reflect either an additional in situ dehydration process or a contribution from updip fluid migration along the fault. Our conclusion differs from that of previous studies, which have suggested that most of the observed geochemical anomaly could be generated by in situ smectite dehydration with as little as 15 wt% initial smectite. This substantial discrepancy is readily explained by the high sensitivity of pore water freshening to assumed porosity at the time of dehydration.


This paper sought to explore how students in History and Geography approach learning. The research involved GCE A Level students in the Sixth Form College sector, in which they responded to a structured questionnaire that was drawn from the literature on self-regulated learning. The key areas for investigation revolved around motivation, self-efficacy, fear of failure and reflection. The data was analysed according to ability range with analysis undertaken between the A*-B range and those students below in the DE range. The conclusion suggests students adopt a range of approaches, some determined by their innate ability but others by more practical concerns such as the chances of success or the value of the activity. Importantly, the research also identified some common approaches adopted by students of History and Geography that challenge Kolb's views of subject discipline s divides.


In an attempt to explore pathophysiological mechanisms relevant for the development for future primary hypertension, we investigated young normotensive men with positive family histories of hypertension (PFH) regarding blood pressure, body weight, systemic and renal haemodynamics as well as cardiovascular hormones and sodium homeostasis. Sixteen subjects with PFH and thirteen controls with negative family histories (NFH), matched for age and body weight were investigated at age 31 and after five years. Blood pressure and heart rate did not differ between the two groups at the first or follow-up examination. At follow-up body weight had increased and a positive correlation between blood pressure and body mass index was found in subjects with PFH, while subjects with NFH had unchanged blood pressure and body weight. Initially, intraerythrocyte sodium content was increased in subjects with PFH, however, at follow-up intraerythrocyte sodium content did not differ between the two groups. At follow-up systemic and renal haemodynamics and sodium homeostasis were investigated in fifteen subjects with PFH and in twenty-nine controls matched for age (36 +/- 5 year) and with NFH. The control group was divided into one group matched for body mass index (n = 15) and one group with normal body mass index (n = 14). Blood pressure and central venous pressure were measured during bolus injections of phenylephrine and during an acute saline/fluid load (1000ml 0.9% NaCl within 10 min). Renal haemodynamics and blood pressure were measured during low doses (0.1 and 0.5 ng/min/kg) continuous infusions of angiotensin II (AII). At baseline blood pressure, body weight and sodium excretion were higher in subjects with PFH and matched controls as compared with lean controls. Calf and forearm haemodynamics (pletysmography), plasma catecholamines, plasma renin activity, angiotensin II, aldosterone, blood volume and erythrocyte sodium efflux rate constant did not differ between the three groups. Circulating atrial natriuretic peptide was higher in subjects with PFH than in the two control groups. In subjects with PFH there was a negative correlation between renal sodium excretion at baseline and the ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux rate constant. During the acute saline/fluid load central venous pressure and systolic blood pressure increased more and venous vascular compliance (ml/mmHg/kg) was reduced in PFH. Atrial natriuretic peptide release and renal sodium excretion were blunted during saline/fluid load in subjects with PFH as compared with the two control groups. Renal blood flow and renal vascular resistance did not differ at baseline. Glomerular filtration rate was somewhat higher in PFH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Mallotus oblongifolius (MO), an edible medicinal plant from Hainan in China, shows a wide range of bioactivities. The daily consumption of MO or its extracts has been observed to ameliorate ischemic nerve injury. However the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, the effects of MO both in vitro and in vivo were investigated. The results indicated that MO improved the motor ability, neurosensory ability, balance and grasping ability of mice with ischemic injuries, induced by bilateral common carotid artery ligation (BCCAL). In addition, MO improved the morphology of neurons, resisted the loss of neurons, and enhanced the content of the nestin protein in the cerebral cortex and subgranular zone (SGZ) area. Furthermore, in the oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) treated cell model, MO could effectively activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and promote the proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs) and increase the protein expression levels of β-catenin and CyclinD1. Our results suggest that Mallotus oblongifolius may be used as nutraceuticals or functional foods to alleviate ischemic nerve damage and promote recovery from ischemic stroke.


This thesis traces the origins and development of the Commonwealth and Continental Church Society throughout the world. It is a product of the Anglican Evangelical missionary enthusiasm of the early nineteenth century. It began as an educational organization but became a general missionary movement among our own people abroad. The nineteenth century saw the settlement and growth of Britain's colonial Empire and the significance of the Society lies in its efforts to send chaplains, lay-readers and teachers to spiritually'destitute' British people, whether residents or travellers, in the Colonies or on the Continent of Europe - wherever they called for help. The work of the Society is set in its historical and theological background including the influences prior to 1823 (when it was founded) which led to the establishment of the two parent Societies. There follows a survey of the main movements, personalities and problems; and then, in chapter 6, there is a discussion of the key problems, an evaluation of the contribution of the Society to the expansion and life of the Church and a suggestion of its role as an Evangelical Society during the latter part of the twentieth century. Supplementary material, placed in the Appendices, includes a survey of movements from 1951-71; the Home Organization; the Constitutions and subsequent changes; a list of Bishops given to the Church by the Society; the relations of the Society to other Societies and Churches and a list of the Bishops holding the Bishop of London's permanent commission for northern Europe, Footnotes are included at the ends of chapters; references will be found at the back between pages 193-237.


Part I - For harmonization of liver diagnostic nomenclature, the establishment of an international nomenclature is essential. In Chapters 2 to 5, such system is presented in the first part of this thesis. In this document, all pathological aspects of the rodent liver were investigated with regard to terminology and the establishment of differential diagnoses in both non-proliferative as well as proliferative lesions of rodents. In Chapter 6 various aspects of grading of are discussed.

Part II - One of the safety issues after long-term administration of a xenobiotic is carcinogenicity assessment, and both early and late proliferative liver lesions might be indicative of potential hepatocarcinogenesis or carcinogenesis at other sites in humans.

In the comparative review of Chapter 7, histomorphological features of common non-neoplastic and neoplastic hepatocyte lesions of rats and humans are examined using H&E-stained slides. The morphological similarities and differences of both neoplastic (hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatocellular adenoma) and presumptive preneoplastic lesions (large and small cell change in humans and foci of cellular alteration in rats) are presented and discussed. There are major similarities in the diagnostic features, growth patterns and behaviour of both rat and human hepatocellular proliferative lesions. Further study of presumptive preneoplastic lesions in humans and rats should help to further define their role in progression to hepatocellular neoplasia in both species.

The purpose of the pilot study as presented in Chapter 8 was to identify homologies and differences in immunohistochemical (IHC) protein expression between human and rat HCC. We investigated the comparative features of 6 immunohistochemical markers (b-catenin, glutamine synthetase, Ki-67 and CD34, C-myc and TGF-a) previously shown to be positive or altered in rodent and human HCC. Glutamine synthetase was strongly positive in 5 human and 4 rats HCCs. CD34 and Ki-67 were consistently positive in 5 human HCCs but weakly positive in only 2 or 3 rat HCCs, respectively. Our findings suggest that glutamine synthetase, CD34 and Ki-67 are most likely to be useful in studying precursor lesions involved in the pathogenesis of HCC in rats and humans.

In Chapter 9, comparative immunohistochemical (beta catenin, glutamine synthetase and C-myc) results are presented of both rat and human hepatocellular proliferative lesions and their significance in hepatocarcinogenesis is discussed. Apart from the morphological similarities and differences of both neoplastic (hepatocellular carcinomas and adenomas) and presumptive pre-neoplastic lesions (foci of cellular alteration in rat and large and small cell change (liver cell dysplasia) respectively in humans, differences for the expression of GS-staining between human versus rat pre-neoplastic lesions exist. There are great similarities in the glutamine synthetase staining patterns of both rat human hepatocellular neoplastic lesions (hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatocellular adenoma) and their role in the process of hepatocarcinogenesis as revealed by their staining patterns for the immunohistochemical markers. Moreover, human dysplastic lesions (large cell change and small cell change) as well as clear cell foci in the rat also show increased expression of glutamine synthetase suggesting metabolic changes of these hepatocytes predisposing them to gain carcinogenic potential in the process of hepatocarcinogenesis.


Due to the nanoscale structures of carbon nanotubes with highly appreciable optical, thermal and electrical properties which has lead it into a challenging purpose for many potential applications in the nano channel FET, MOSFET, MISC, biosensors, magnetic storage, memory devices etc. The preparation techniques of CNTs by conventional CVD or ARC plasma Discharge method is substituted by the low cost and easy pyrolysis technique as referred in a paper is used for the preparation of CNTs and the prepared CNT is characterized by XRD, SEM . Then a device using the millimetre long CNT, synthesized by CVD technique, as channel is fabricated in a simple manner and the substrate induced biasing effect has studied by the current -voltage characterization by using the source meter, showing the metallic behaviour of multi walled CNT channel. The change in resistance due to the exposure of fabricated device towards different external factors like LASER beam and the water vapour is observed, which shows the change in surface activity due to the influence of foreign molecules.


The proliferation of mobile devices in everyday life since the end of the 20th century has led to mobile applications for educational purposes and the creation of the research field of mobile learning. Despite the extended research interest on the effectiveness of this field, there is limited research on mobile learning for various social groups, such as refugees, students with learning difficulties and disabilities. Due to the unprecedented number (over one hundred million) of refugees during the second decade of the 21st century worldwide, many NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and UN (United Nations) initiatives have proposed leveraging mobile learning for refugee educational needs. This research article focuses on mobile learning for refugee education. Namely, the present systematic literature review results from 2015 to 2020 will give a concrete picture of the recently existing mobile learning apps for refugees and their characteristics. According to the research findings, 15 characteristics were collected out of 14 applications. According to prior literature, areas of agreement or discrepancies in the field were found. Two new -to previous literature- characteristics were revealed: interwoven psychological and educational features and refugees' cultural features in the apps. The summarization and categorization of the app's characteristics aim to contribute to mobile learning research and impact game developers, educators, and NGOs according to refugee needs. The limitations of this study and issues for further exploration will also be discussed in the last sections.


This article investigates gender inequality in agricultural productivity, highlights its key determinants, and approximates the potential production, consumption, and poverty gains from reducing or closing the gender productivity gap. The analysis is performed on the basis of representative household survey datasets recently collected in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. In these countries, agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy and understanding the extent and sources of gender productivity gaps is crucial for building policy interventions and empowering women. Our econometric approach consists initially in estimating a model of agricultural productivity to uncover the impact of gender of the land manager. Then, mean and quantile-based decomposition approaches are applied to each country separately to underscore the sources of gender differences in agriculture. Using the estimated productivity differentials, we finally measure the potential benefits that each country could obtain from closing or gradually reducing these gaps.The results reveal that female-managed plots have clear endowment disadvantages in farm size, use and intensity of non-labor inputs. The findings show that on average female-managed agricultural lands are 18.6, 27.4, and 30.6% less productive than their male counterparts in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively. The decomposition of the sources of gender productivity differences indicates that in the three countries, endowment and structural disadvantages of female managers in land size, land quality, labor inputs, and household characteristics are the main drivers of gender gaps. Finally, closing gender productivity differentials is estimated to yield production gains of 2.8% in Nigeria, 8.1% in Tanzania, and 10.3% in Uganda; to raise monthly consumption by 2.9%, 1.4%, and 10.7% in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda; and to help around 1.2%, 4.9%, and 13% households with female-managed lands climb out of poverty in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively.


Feed-forward neural networks consist of a sequence of layers, in which each layer performs some processing on the information from the previous layer. A downside to this approach is that each layer (or module, as multiple modules can operate in parallel) is tasked with processing the entire hidden state, rather than a particular part of the state which is most relevant for that module. Methods which only operate on a small number of input variables are an essential part of most programming languages, and they allow for improved modularity and code re-usability. Our proposed method, Neural Function Modules (NFM), aims to introduce the same structural capability into deep learning. Most of the work in the context of feed-forward networks combining top-down and bottom-up feedback is limited to classification problems. The key contribution of our work is to combine attention, sparsity, top-down and bottom-up feedback, in a flexible algorithm which, as we show, improves the results in standard classification, out-of-domain generalization, generative modeling, and learning representations in the context of reinforcement learning.


Patellar ligament desmopathy in horses is regarded as an uncommon condition with unclear aetiology. Of the three patellar ligaments in the horse, the intermediate is the one most often diagnosed with desmopathy in horses presenting with chronic lameness. This structure corresponds to the patellar tendon in humans. As diagnostic imaging modalities continuously improve, changes in echogenicity of the patellar ligaments are identified ultrasonographically with increasing frequency. However, disruption of the normal fibre pattern may be present also in patellar ligaments in horses that show no signs of lameness. Similarly, there is a poor correlation between pain and diagnostic imaging findings in human patellar tendinopathy. Consequently, there appears to be a knowledge gap pertaining to normal ultrasonographic variation and diagnostic criteria for disease of the patellar ligaments in horses. Furthermore, local anaesthetic techniques to verify the diagnosis are poorly described, and due to the low number of treated cases, no specific treatment modality can be recommended on a scientific basis. The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge regarding the pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of patellar ligament desmopathy in horses, compare this condition with patellar tendinopathy in humans, and identify areas for further research to increase the diagnostic accuracy in horses. We conclude that there is a profound need for better descriptions of ultrasonographic variation and pathological changes of the equine patellar ligaments. Identification of areas of maximal ligament strain and descriptions of early histopathological changes could render more information on the possible aetiology, preventive measurements and treatment options of desmopathy. Description of regional innervation could aid in development of methods for diagnostic anaesthesia to verify pain originating from the ligaments.


Abstract. The evidence from both data and models indicate that specific equilibrium climate sensitivity S[X] – the global annual mean surface temperature change (∆Tg) as a response to a change in radiative forcing X (∆R[X]) – is state dependent. Such a state dependency implies that the best fit in the scatter plot of ∆Tg versus ∆R[X] is not a linear regression, but for instance a higher order polynomial. While for the conventional linear case the slope (gradient) of the regression is correctly interpreted as the specific equilibrium climate sensitivity S[X], the interpretation is not straightforward in the non-linear case. We here elaborate how such a state dependent scatter plot needs to be interpreted, and provide a theoretical understanding how to calculate S[X] in the non-linear case.


The problem of mineral association and mineral paragenesis in ore deposits has been the subject of much discussion. The attempts at a rational explanation have, however, been largely unsuccessful since they were not based on sound physical-chemical principles. A new attempt is made in this paper, and it is shown that the temperature and the fugacity (f) of O, S and CO 2 in ore-forming fluids at the time deposition of the vein minerals largely control the mineralogy of ore deposits. fs 2 -fo 2 -T diagrams showing the stability fields of sulfides, oxides, and sulfates of nineteen metals are developed as well as fs 2 -fo 2 -fco 2 diagrams showing the stability of these compounds and of carbonates of the respective elements. The diagrams are based on recent compilations of thermochemical data; they are used in the second paper of this series to define the approximate composition of ore-forming fluids and the relationships between temperature, pressure, and mineralogy in hydrothermal ore deposits.


Audience: This exercise is appropriate for all emergency medicine learners (residents and medical students) and learners from other specialties (internal medicine, family medicine, anesthesia). Introduction: About 85 million red blood cell units are transfused worldwide each year. Transfusion reactions can complicate up to 8% of blood transfusions and can range from benign to life threatening. An emergency physician must be able to discuss the risks and benefits of blood transfusion with patients, as well as manage the associated complications of blood transfusion. Objectives: At the end of this didactic session, the learner will be able to: 1) list the various transfusion reactions and their approximate incidence; 2) understand the pathophysiology behind each transfusion reaction; 3) describe the management for each type of transfusion reaction; and 4) discuss the plan for prevention of future transfusion reactions. Method: This is a classic team based learning exercise (cTBL). Topics: Transfusion reactions, red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI), transfusion associated circulatory overload (TACO), acute hemolytic transfusion reaction (AHTR), delayed extravascular hemolytic transfusion reaction (DHTR), anaphylaxis and urticarial transfusion reactions, sepsis, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).


I introduce a framework in which a variety of probabilistic theories can be defined, including classical and quantum theories, and many others. From two simple assumptions, a tensor product rule for combining separate systems can be derived. Certain features, usually thought of as specifically quantum, turn out to be generic in this framework, meaning that they are present in all except classical theories. These include the non-unique decomposition of a mixed state into pure states, a theorem involving disturbance of a system on measurement (suggesting that the possibility of secure key distribution is generic), and a no-cloning theorem. Two particular theories are then investigated in detail, for the sake of comparison with the classical and quantum cases. One of these includes states that can give rise to arbitrary non-signalling correlations, including the super-quantum correlations that have become known in the literature as Nonlocal Machines or Popescu-Rohrlich boxes. By investigating these correlations in the context of a theory with well-defined dynamics, I hope to make further progress with a question raised by Popescu and Rohrlich, which is, why does quantum theory not allow these strongly nonlocal correlations? The existence of such correlations forces much of the dynamics in this theory to be, in a certain sense, classical, with consequences for teleportation, cryptography and computation. I also investigate another theory in which all states are local. Finally, I raise the question of what further axiom(s) could be added to the framework in order uniquely to identify quantum theory, and hypothesize that quantum theory is optimal for computation.


Cognitive therapy and imipramine hydrochloride tricyclic pharmacotherapy, each singly and in combination, were compared in the treatment of nonpsychotic, nonbipolar depressed outpatients. One hundred seven patients were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of active treatment; 64 patients completed the full course of treatment. Rates of attrition were high but not differential. Cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy did not differ in terms of symptomatic response, either in the primary analyses or in secondary analyses restricted to more severely depressed outpatients. Initial severity did predict response within pharmacotherapy alone, but not within cognitive therapy. Combining cognitive therapy with pharmacotherapy did not markedly improve response over that observed for either modality alone, although such nonsignificant differences as were evident did favor the combined treatment. Two patients died as a consequence of suicide attempts, both of which involved study medication.


Context: Neurogenic tumors are the second most common parapharyngeal space (PPS) lesions, with schwannoma being the most common neurogenic tumor seen. PPS tumors account for 0.5% of all head-and-neck masses, and most surgeons might not encounter it in their lifetime. Anatomical complexity and histological diversity of PPS pose various diagnostic and treatment challenges. Relevant literature about lesions of this space is growing but is still limited. Aims: The aim of our study was to evaluate neurogenic tumors of PPS and their management over a period of 5 years. Settings and Design: A retrospective study was conducted in our institution for a duration of 5 years from January 2014 to December 2018. Materials and Methods: Clinical features were analyzed. All patients were subjected to radio imaging-contrast-enhanced computerized tomography and contrast magnetic resonance imaging, and findings were noted. After imaging, patients were subject to fine-needle aspiration cytology. Transcervical approach was used for 11 cases and endoscopic-assisted transoral transpharyngeal approach (EATA) used for 4 cases. Results: A total of 27 patients with PPS tumors were evaluated and treated. The incidence of neurogenic tumors was 55.5% (15 cases). Out of the 15 patients with neurogenic tumors, 11 cases were schwannomas, 1 case was vagal neurofibroma, and 3 cases were paragangliomas from the carotid body. Conclusions: Neurogenic tumors of PPS are more common than traditionally thought. Neck swellings and oropharyngeal masses are the most common presenting features. FNAC is a very useful tool to establish a preoperative cytological diagnosis. Both external approach and EATA are effective approaches, provided that careful patient selection is done.


In the realm of international private law, before a judge can exercise his/her authority to adjudicate a claim, it is necessary to find the governing law under which he/she can make a decision. To achieve his/her goal, the judge is obliged to explain the claim. After that, he/she places it in his respective liaison section, or enforces the conflict resolution rule related to that section, until he/she can reach the ruling law. In the case of the application of the conflict resolution rule, the judge faces two situations, which are co-ordination and non-coordination of the conflict resolution rules. One form of theirs is called negative conflict or renvoi. And it occurs when the countries involved in the lawsuit, have no authority to intervene and the law of the other country is considered to be justified in handling the lawsuit. The goal of this research is to identify the right law and the right court in case of conflict of law in order to better address the issue. That is, if there is a conflict between the laws of countries, it must first be determined whether it is a positive or a negative conflict, so that the problem can be easily resolved. If there is a negative conflict, as a result, the renvoi takes place. For renvoi, the law and the systems of the countries concerned should be studied well in order to resolve the problem easily. As a result of this research, we can understand that in case of a foreign case the judge should try to find foreign righteous law and should make a decision by applying the substantial rules of the righteous law.


Digestive and respiratory tracts parasite's protozoan, Cryptosporidium spp. now-a-days is a major zoonotic agent, it causes self-limiting diarrhea, remaining in the body passively until the moment immune system decreases, leading to an increase in its multiplication in the mucosa and appearance of clinical signs. As there are few studies on cryptosporidiosis in wild free-living and captive animals, especially in Brazil, this study aimed to identify the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in feces of captive animals in Cascavel, PR Municipal Zoo. Between 2011 and 2012 there have been four collections of bird feces and five mammalian feces totaling 65 and 118 samples respectively. Samples were sent to the laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Federal University of Parana. The feces were diluted, centrifuged and the pellets were used to make blades which were stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen modified method and observed under a microscope with 1000X magnification. Then the blades containing the oocysts were observed under a capture microscope, where they were measured. Mammals showed 49.15% and birds 44.61% of positivity. Oocysts' sizes ranged from 3,54μm to 5,81μm with an average of 4,32μm for birds and 3,11μm to 5,60μm averaging 4,63μm to mammals. As of yet, there isn't effective treatment against this parasite and considering that it's a zoonotic disease, preventive measures should be taken to prevent transmission to humans.


Aggregation of suspended HeLa cells is increased on removal of cell surface sialic acid. Calcium ions promote aggregation whereas magnesium ions have no effect. The calcium effect is abolished by previous treatment of the cells with neuraminidase. Trypsinization of the HeLa cells followed by thorough washing diminishes the rate of mutual cell aggregation. Subsequent incubation with neuraminidase restores the aggregation rate to the original value before trypsin treatment. Cells which had acquired a greater tendency for aggregation after removal of peripheral sialic acid lose this property when subsequently treated with trypsin. Calcium ions have no aggregative effect on trypsinized cells. In contrast to HeLa cells, aggregation of human erythrocytes was not increased after treatment with neuraminidase or on addition of calcium. The results with HeLa cells are interpreted as follows: (a) Trypsin-releasable material confers adhesiveness upon the cells. (b) The adhesive property of this material is counteracted by the presence of cell surface sialic acids. (c) Calcium ions exert their effect by attenuating the adverse effect of sialic acid.


Massive machine-type communications protocols have typically been designed under the assumption that coordination between users requires significant communication overhead and is thus impractical. Recent progress in efficient activity detection and collision-free scheduling, however, indicates that the cost of coordination can be much less than the naive scheme for scheduling. This work considers a scenario in which a massive number of devices with sporadic traffic seek to access a massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) base-station (BS) and explores an approach in which device activity detection is followed by a single common feedback broadcast message, which is used both to schedule the active users to different transmission slots and to assign orthogonal pilots to the users for channel estimation. The proposed coordinated communication scheme is compared to two prevalent contention-based schemes: coded pilot access, which is based on the principle of coded slotted ALOHA, and an approximate message passing scheme for joint user activity detection and channel estimation. Numerical results indicate that scheduled massive access provides significant gains in the number of successful transmissions per slot and in sum rate, due to the reduced interference, at only a small cost of feedback.


Neuromusculoskeletal simulation provides a promising platform to inform the design of assistive devices or inform rehabilitation. For these applications, a simulation must be able to accurately represent the person of interest, such as an individual with a neurologic injury. If a simulation fails to predict how an individual recruits and coordinates their muscles during movement, it will have limited utility for informing design or rehabilitation. While inverse dynamic simulations have previously been used to evaluate anticipated responses from interventions, like orthopedic surgery or orthoses, they frequently struggle to accurately estimate muscle activations, even for tasks like walking. The simulated muscle activity often fails to represent experimentally measured muscle activity from electromyographic (EMG) recordings. Research has theorized that the nervous system may simplify the range of possible activations used during dynamic tasks, by constraining activations to weighted groups of muscles, referred to as muscle synergies. Synergies are altered after neurological injury, such as stroke or cerebral palsy (CP), and may provide a method for improving subject-specific models of neuromuscular control. The aim of this study was to test whether constraining simulation to synergies could improve estimated muscle activations compared to EMG data. We evaluated modeled muscle activations during gait for six typically developing (TD) children and six children with CP. Muscle activations were estimated with: (1) static optimization (SO), minimizing muscle activations squared, and (2) synergy SO (SynSO), minimizing synergy activations squared using the weights identified from EMG data for two to five synergies. While SynSO caused changes in estimated activations compared to SO, the correlation to EMG data was not higher in SynSO than SO for either TD or CP groups. The correlations to EMG were higher in CP than TD for both SO (CP: 0.48, TD: 0.36) and SynSO (CP: 0.46, TD: 0.26 for five synergies). Constraining activations to SynSO caused the simulated muscle stress to increase compared to SO for all individuals, causing a 157% increase with two synergies. These results suggest that constraining simulated activations in inverse dynamic simulations to subject-specific synergies alone may not improve estimation of muscle activations during gait for generic musculoskeletal models.


The relationships of various aspects of idiomatic communication to the interpersonal sentiments of 100 romantically involved heterosexual couples were examined. After completing measures of love, liking, commitment, and closeness, the partners of each dyad were questioned about any words, phrases, or nonverbal signs they had created that had meaning unique to their relationship. The 647 idioms reported were coded for their form (i.e., verbal versus nonverbal), context of use (i.e., private idioms, which were used only when others were not present, versus public idioms, which could be used in the presence of others), and function (i.e., confrontations, expressions of affection, labels for outsiders, nicknames, requests, sexual invitations, sexual references/euphemisms, and teasing insults). For both sexes, loving, commitment, and closeness were correlated with number of reported idioms that expressed affection, initiated sexual encounters, and referred to sexual matters. The only significant relationship for liking was between females' liking scores and the frequency of idioms with sexual referents. A log-linear analysis revealed a significant association between the function of the idioms and their form; labels for outsiders, nicknames, sexual references/euphemisms, and teasing insults were almost always verbal. A significant association was also found between idiom function and context of use; labels for outsiders and teasing insults were most often used in situations involving other people, whereas sexual invitations and sexual references/euphemisms were usually used in private situations. Finally, males were the inventors of idioms much more often than females.